And those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways; and Allah is most surely with the doers of good. 29:69 The Quran

Escalating Rhetoric and Actions

Syed Javed Hussain

It took about six years for Bush administration to come to terms with realitiesin Korean peninsula and start direct negotiations with North Korea that it had been demanding all along. It took a lot of wrangling as well as adamant nuclear explosion by NK to bring this simple lesson home to hawkish policy-makers in Washington clouding Bush’s vision, that nothing substitutes dialogue.

Now everyone seems to be talking and the dialogue has not only scaled down the rhetoric, it has brought certain amount of common sense in the politics of the area although it is too early to pass any judgement on the future course of actions of the powers involved.

However, if George W Bush had not sauntered along with the mantra of ‘evil empire’ and ‘the regime change’ all these years and gone into dialogue right from the beginning impartially North Korea would not have to go nuclear and a great multitude of humanity there would not have to suffer that long.

A great parallel is to be drawn in the Gulf in the unfortunate squabbling of the US over Iran’s nuclear programme that Iran emphasises is only for peaceful purposes. All the focus is on shutting the programme down and not on making certain that it should not be diverted towards military purposes or towards seeking international guarantees or improving the IAEA checks over the programme. Again the mantra is ‘Axis of Evil’ and ‘the regime change.

’The communication gap is acute. Iran wants to provide full guarantees that its nuclear programme will never be diverted to military purposes and is showing its full intentions to fully cooperate with IAEA to make the monitoring of its nuclear facility at Nantanz extensively feasible with surprise visits by UN personals, the so-called self-appointed representatives of International Community on behest of the US simply are not listening. They don’t want even to talk until the research enrich-ment activity at Nantanz is suspended.

Hawkish and bullying attitude of the West is taking no party anywhere. Everything has been stalled; rather, it may have been planned as such by the US warmongering adventurers looking for yet another opportunity to pounce at the Gulf to tap 50 per cent of the world oil flow with 90 percent of proven world oil assets under control.

The US that claims that its own national interests always remain at the forefront while dealing with other nations falters terribly when Israeli interests come into question. Such is the influence of Israeli lobby at home that gullible Americans are easily lead to believe that they are not doing any yeoman service to some corrupt, illegitimate, illogical and fanatic state in the heart of Islamic lands, but that by doing so they are serving their own interests.

They are getting their own sons and daughters killed in Iraq and have already spent over 500 billions dollars on Iraq adventure. And now whereas they want them come home, Mr Bush and his cronies, rather acolytes are shaking hell at top of their voices convincing flabbergasted Americans that an investment is being made for expensive future gains. The unfortunate aspect of this entire spectacle is that this is being done in the name of service to humanity, global peace, regional stability and democracy.

How illogical! The US does not see any correlation between Koreanpeninsula and the Gulf regarding its nuclear stand off with Iran. There are so many parallels between Iran and North Korea as historical perspective that it is like denying the sun in a broad daylight if different approach is considered fit while dealing with Iran’s nuclear issue.

Only Iran has adamantly been clamouring hard that its nuclear programme is peaceful and for civilian purposes, whereas NK had never claimed it to be so and once even had kicked out the IAEA inspectors unceremoniously and challenged the audacity of the US in Korean peninsula saying that any attempt to stop its vessels in KP will be considered an act of war that bore consequences for the US Peaceful overtures of Iran are also not helping anyone. Sometimes shock therapy is good enough respite medicine. As it fits to all parties the US is already on course to try that for all the wrong reasons.

Reports are ripe in media that the Pentagon has made contingency plans to use B-2 stealth bombers to launch 400 cruise missiles at 50 targets in Iran. An ‘Iranian Directorate’, in the Pentagon that was set up by Dick Cheney andRumsfeld last year is already working overtime to look into the pros and cons of new engagement in the Gulf.

The neo-cons such as Rummy and Abram Shulsky who had cooked up stories regarding Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction are again in action and are creating reports of so-called ‘top-level intelligence’ regarding militarization of Iran’s nuclear programme as well as its threats to the US interests in Iraq.

In yet another chilling reprise of the build-up to the Iraq war the US has stationed two aircraft carrier battle groups in the Gulf. Patriot anti-missile batteries have already been deployed in the Gulf. Israel has got deep penetration bunker buster bombs to be used in Iran.

Presently covert US forces as well as their agents have infiltrated Iranian territory for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering so that sensitive installations are precisely targeted. Israel is fully active in all these preparations.

It has even wooed the US for a go ahead with aerial strikes inside Iran. Quite recently in the Negev desert Elite Israeli air force and Special Forces units rehearsed precision strikes on simulated targets. With precision munitions to be dropped from F 16/18s’ both land and carrier based, Tomahawk cruise missiles, along with other low yield nuclear weapons, the US has gathered up a recipe for a disaster of huge magnitude.

Iranian diplomats are firm and thorough in their assertions, they have shown tons of patience facing hypocrisy of the West, and they are supple in statecraft par excellence. They have avoided Hugo Chavez’s rhetoric against George W Bush and have never been emboldened by North Korea’s successful nuclear tests. They are on the right track with strong conviction and understanding that one day the world will come to terms with reality and the US-Israeli designs on the Middle East will be fully exposed.

Only Iran’s President is tough and is understandably confronting the US head on. Perhaps this must be the best approach in dealing with an arrogant hyper power. However, as Iran’s case is being discussed in the UNSC and even Iranian President has expressed his intentions to present his country’s case to the UNSC himself, one can cherish a slight hope that some ice may be broken.

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Information

Hawkish and bullying attitude of the West is taking no party anywhere. Everything has been stalled; rather, it may have been planned as such by the US warmongering adventurers looking for yet another opportunity to pounce at the Gulf to tap 50 per cent of the world oil flow with 90 percent of proven world oil assets under control.﻿